STUFFED SQUID Kalamaria Yemista

STUFFED SQUID  Kalamaria Yemista

I was coming back from our new home and found a remarkable Korean International Market (Assi International) on the way and decided to go in and see what they had to offer.  It is amazing!.  I consider myself a “foodie” but so much of what they had were items I had never seen before accept in cook books and on cooking shows and some items I never heard of or saw before. Their fresh vegetables and fruit section in particular were most outstanding.

Their fish department was  marvelous  with many varieties of  fresh fish.  I came upon large squid and I could not pass up purchasing them.  I love squid in all sizes; small fried calamari and  squid salad and stuffed squid using the larger version.

The stuffing, made of rice, raisins, pine nuts, onions and herbs) is a commonly used one in Greece for grape leaves (Dolmades), mussels, tomatoes and peppers.

Squid have gained in notoriety in the USA, as many restaurants now serve fried Calamari.  This dish is made with the larger sized Calamari.

This sounds more difficult than it is and surely makes for a lovely elegant and different meal.

Preparation of the squid is the first thing to master.  Rinse well.  Squeeze out the eye balls and socket (yes sounds horrible, but it is easy). Be very careful the squid ink does not splatter you!  Pull off the head and tentacles.

Notice the cartilage at the lower right

Reach inside the body of the squid and pull out the thin long cartilage. Rinse all again.

Chop the tentacles and the onion.

1 1/2 pounds large squid

1/2 cup of olive oil

1 small onion chopped

1 head of garlic minced

1/2 cup of dry white wine

1/4 cup of rice

¼ cup raisins

¼ cup pine nuts

1/4 bunch of fresh parsley, chopped

¼ cup mint chopped

¼ cup dill chopped

1 teaspoon of salt

1/2 teaspoon of pepper

1 cup chopped tomatoes

Water to cover squid

Heat the olive oil and add the onions and garlic and sauté until translucent. Add the chopped tentacles, rice, and wine.  Simmer a few minutes.  Remove from heat. Add 1/2 of the pine nuts, raisins  and  herbs, salt and pepper.

Stuff the squid ( 3/4 ths full as the rice will expand) and place in a large pot where they can fit tightly.  Place the remaining herbs, pine nuts, raisins and tomatoes in a bowl and then pour on the squid. 

Cover with water  so the lcooking liquid comes about ½ way up  the squid. Cover and simmer for about 45 minutes until the squid is tender.

TIPS

• I had some shrimp and added to the sauce 10 minutes before serving.
• The stuffing is prefect for Tomatoes (use the inside of the tomato instead of the tops of the squid)

As always be your own Creative Dump Cook and change this recipe to what YOU have on hand!